In Country (1989)

A young girl whose father died in the Vietnam War becomes determined to find out more about him and his experiences.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Bobbie Ann Mason (novel), Frank Pierson (screenplay)

Stars:

Emily Lloyd, Bruce Willis, Joan Allen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Emmett Smith
Emily Lloyd	...	Samantha Hughes
Joan Allen	...	Irene
Kevin Anderson	...	Lonnie
John Terry	...	Tom
Peggy Rea	...	Mamaw
Judith Ivey	...	Anita
Daniel Jenkins	...	Dwayne
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Pete
Jim Beaver	...	Earl Smith
Richard Hamilton	...	Grampaw
Heidi Swedberg	...	Dawn
Ken Jenkins	...	Jim Holly
Jonathan Hogan	...	Larry
Patricia Richardson	...	Cindy

Storyline

Samantha Hughes, a teenage Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before she was born. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett Smith, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around with Tom, Earl and Pete, three other Vietnam veterans who, like Emmett, all have problems of one kind or another, that relate to their war experiences. Sam, as Samantha is known, becomes obsessed with finding out about her father and his experiences, but Emmett and the other veterans don't want to talk about the war. Sam pushes everyone to attend a dance honoring the town's veterans, but Pete and Earl get into a fight, Emmett disappears, and Tom takes Sam home for an unsuccessful tryst. When Sam reads her father's diary, she begins to understand what his life and death meant, and with a trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she and Emmett at least temporarily come to terms with the war in their lives.

---

Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | car | vietnam | memorial | vietnam war | 

---

Taglines:

The story of an American family.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The doctor's office seen in the movie is actually a dry cleaners which is still operating in Mayfield, Kentucky. After the movie, the store was named "Clothes Doctor" as a result of appearing in the movie.

---

Goofs

In the opening scene where the Platoon Leader is marching in the Platoon you see his shirt has one too many buttons unbuttoned.

---

Quotes

Dwayne: When I get back to the world, this will be a dream. But now, the world is a dream.

---

Connections

References Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

---

Soundtracks

(Waltz Me) Once Again Around the Dance Floor
Performed by k.d. lang
Courtesy of Sire Records
By arrangement with Warner Special Products
Written by Jack Rowland, Sarah John and Don Goodman

User Reviews

Beautiful portrayals by the two stars

It's easy to see why so few people seem to have connected with this underrated movie. There's no nudity, no violence, no killing, no superstars chewing up the scenery. It is, instead, a quiet, maybe too slow-moving, film about a teenage girl at the cusp of womanhood trying to learn about what Vietnam had been like for her father, who was killed there. She also begins to see her ex-G.I. uncle clearly, for the first time, as a survivor of something terrible.

In Country is about the Vietnam War only as in the sense that it's also about a family's history whose impact bridges the generations. It's less about events than it is about becoming a grown-up in an America that has a sixty-second attention span and a fifteen-minute memory.

Emily Lloyd, who you'd never guess is English, does a beautifully sensitive job in the starring role, and Bruce Willis, as her uncle, turns in a very fine, very dignified performance.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

In Country

Filming Locations:

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,505, 17 September 1989

Gross USA:

$3,531,971

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,531,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Yorktown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1